While I have often thought that those who could afford to contribute more to the town should (Roger Clemens, when he signed a multimillion dollar contract with the Red Sox while communities all over the state were laying off teachers, immediately comes to mind), Mr. Wolfe seems to miss a major point about overrides:
They are not imposed on the community by any of the people he mentions, by anyone who might reflexively think they are just a jim-dandy good idea, etc. Overrides are political campaigns, subject to the will of the electorate. The people he targets may have supported the last override, but they have never had power to impose it. Last June, the majority of participating voters in this community decided to tax themselves as a way of saving services to the community, and, while it hasn't been able to help us as much as we had hoped, these voters may still prefer to not have to take this year's cuts in service on top of the $7.2 million that would have been imposed last year. Because we live in a democracy, Mr. Wolfe has the right to gripe about government and to run for office. But, like all of us, he still has to pay his share of taxes, even if he doesn't like the idea very much, nor voted for them. Rene Mandel Pct. 3
